flemish

Syllables: flem·ish/ˈflɛmɪʃ/

flemish is the ellipsis of Flemish coil.

Meaning of Flemish coil

Noun

Flemish coil (plural Flemish coils)

A neat, flat spiral coil used for rope.

Synonyms:

flemish

Verb

flemish (third-person singular simple present flemishes, present participle flemishing, simple past and past participle flemished)

(transitive) Often followed by down: to arrange (a rope) into a neat, flat spiral coil.
- In about twenty minutes, after the messenger had been stowed away, the cables coiled in the tiers, and the ropes flemished down on deck, the captain made his appearance, and directed the first-lieutenant to send aft the newly impressed men.1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XI, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume I, London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 138
- When great neatness is desired a line is flemished down. Successive circles of the line are wrapped about each other with the free end at the center. When it is finished it looks like a mat and with an old piece of line can be used as one. […] If a line is flemished down and left on a deck for some...1943 November, “More on Marlinespike”, in Charles F[rederic] Chapman, editor, Motor Boating: The Yachtsman’s Magazine, volume 72, number 5, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Magazines, →OCLC, page 32, column 2

Adjective capitalized: Flemish

Flemish (comparative more Flemish, superlative most Flemish)

Of or relating to Flanders, either as the historical county of Flanders (the current provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders in Belgium, Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands and French Flanders); or as the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium.
- But Wallonian legislators are blocking the changes, fearing that their power is eroding, that the Flemish are doing some legal ethnic cleansing and that a divided Belgium will end the subsidies that flow south from richer Flanders.2008 May 14, Steven Erlanger, “Seams of Belgium’s Quilt Threaten to Burst”, in The New York Times
- […] 1302, in which Flemish farmers and civilians armed with goedendags stand in battle formation. The goedendags resemble long clubs, but they have a much wider beating ring around the top and it is possible that a daring combatant […]2010, Jan Piet Puype, Harm Stevens, Arms and Armour of Knights and Landsknechts in the Netherlands Army Museum, Eburon Uitgeverij B.V., →ISBN, page 245
Of or relating to the Belgian standard variety of the Dutch language.
Of or relating to West Flemish, East Flemish and/or French Flemish dialects of Dutch.

Proper noun capitalized: Flemish

Flemish

Standard Dutch as it is spoken in Flanders.
- The government project for rendering the Flemish language official at the University of Ghent, which was responsible for the recent Cabinet crisis, caused warm discussion when it was resubmitted to the Chamber this afternoon.1929 December 12, “Language Bill Stirs the Belgian Chamber; Compromise Measure Submitted to Make Flemish Official Tongue at University of Ghent”, in New York Times
- I think the politicians have missed the opportunity to make education bilingual for all. Then there would be no language issue. Even though people laugh when Elio Di Rupo [leader of the largest francophone Socialist party] speaks Flemish, at least he makes an effort.2011 June 10, Tamara Gausi, quoting Ilse Marien, “Are chips really the best thing about Belgium?”, in The Guardian
West Flemish (including French Flemish and Zeelandic Flemish) and East Flemish dialects of Dutch.
- Its Middle Dutch successor (c.1100 to c.1500) is well documented from the end of the twelfth century, especially in the western (Flemish) and centre (Brabantic) dialects of the economically more prosperous southern area, now Belgium.1994, Carol Henriksen and Johan van der Auwera, “The Germanic Languages”, in Ekkehard König and Johan van der Auwera, editors, The Germanic Languages, Routledge, page 14
Any of the Low Franconian dialects or languages spoken in northern Belgium, mainly West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian dialects of Dutch and Limburgish.
- That was in the Roman Catholic region of Limburg, a district stretching from northeast Belgium across southern Holland, where the local dialect of Flemish is not easily understood in the rest of the two countries, and where even the artists - the writer's parents are an example - are apt to be born...1989 July 2, Julian Moynahan, New York Times

Forms of flemish

Noun
plural	flemishes
Verb
third-person singular present	flemishes
present participle	flemishing
past participle	flemished
past	flemished
Adjective
comparative	more Flemish
superlative	most Flemish

Origin of flemish

The noun is an ellipsis of Flemish coil, so called because the technique of coiling rope in this manner began with sailors from Flanders. The verb is from Flemish (“of or relating to Flanders”, adjective), from Flemish coil.

From Middle English flemmysshe, from Old English flēmisc, from Old Frisian flāmisk, derived from Proto-Germanic *flaumaz (“flowing, current water”) and *-iskaz. Equivalent to English fleam + -ish. More at Flanders.

Words formed from flemish

Phrases with flemish

5 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with flemish

Questions about flemish

What does flemish mean?: Flemish means often followed by down: to arrange (a rope) into a neat, flat spiral coil.
What is flemish the ellipsis of?: Flemish is the ellipsis of Flemish coil.
What part of speech is flemish?: Flemish can be a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce flemish?: Flemish is pronounced /ˈflɛmɪʃ/ (UK).
What is the past tense of flemish?: The past tense of flemish is flemished.

Words near flemish in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: flemish (page history and authors); Flemish (page history and authors); Flemish coil (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-flemish.wav, En-us-Flemish.ogg.

Cite this entry: “flemish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/flemish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.